The Connection
by ChocoKoko
Summary: Although she may not know how to smile, Lien certainly can feel the emotion 'joy' when she receives Gakuen High's idol Arthur's number! It seems as if her life could have no more hardships...wait a minute. Calling someone shouldn't be so hard, right? Then how come the Arthur she called isn't the Arthur she knows?
1. Chapter 1

Summary: Although she may not know how to smile, Lien certainly can feel the emotion 'joy' when she receives Gakuen High's idol Arthur's number! It seems as if her life could have no more hardships...wait a minute. Calling someone shouldn't be so hard, right? Then how come the Arthur she called isn't the Arthur she knows?

Disclaimer: I do not own Hetalia nor idea.

Notes: This is based off of the fanfic 'Cellphones' written by Fliers. They have given me the permission to use this idea, bur of course, there will be major adjustments, seeing as how personalities are COMPLETELY different. Blarghhh. Wish me luck. And there might be some OOCs. Hopefully not. D:

* * *

Lien stared at the screen with wide eyes and mouth agape.

This expression would be strange if it was any other normal day for Lien, but when did Lien ever have normal days when living with her "family"? Then again, something as amazing yet astonishing as this had never happened before. Even now she blinked rapidly to see if it was an illusion as she seemed to memorize those numbers.

"Impossible..." was the the only thing the Vietnamese girl could mutter. "Is it really...true? This is...his number?"

Ahem. Let's rewind for a few seconds.

Lien Nguyen, at current, was a third year student at Gakuen High. She lived with a mixture of her "family". There was Yao, Mei, Kaoru, Yong Soo and Kiku. She had another family member who was overseas in Thailand though. Lien had recently received a cell phone, and she also was lovestruck because of the school idol, Arthur Kirkland.

British accent that made girls swoon, shining emerald eyes, a mop of messy hair that fell over his large eyebrows, Arthur Kirkland, third year student. The most perfect gentleman a girl could ever hope for, and despite his bad habit of cursing at times, he was intelligent, witty, cynical and sarcastic, all good traits of the man in Lien's opinion.

And her opinion could go on forever.

"Alright! Look, Lien!" Elizaveta had cut Lien off from her daily dreamy look and compliments about Arthur. "All of these compliments are going to the wrong person! Just go confess to him already!"

"That's never going to happen," Natalia said in monotone, resting her chin on her palm as she regarded her two friends with a bored look. "Lien's not very confident, you see."

"I-I'm confident!" Lien protested, golden eyes widening. "A-and, I can't just go up and confess! He's part of the student council as well, you know! They're always busy after school and he probably doesn't even know me!"

"Really? But isn't he in any of your classes? You are smart, after all," Elizabeta commented, arching an eyebrow. True, classes were sorted by years and honors classes, and Lien had to admit Arthur was in some of her classes, at the very least.

But no. Lien couldn't hope to talk to him, it was impossible. She had this natural tendency of stuttering when she was nervous, and she was shy to boot.

Nu-uh. Never going to happen. Nope. Zip, zero, lock your lips and never hope to speak ever again.

The Belorussian and Hungarian were unamused as they seemed to read the Vietnamese's mind.

"Lien." Natalia said, stopping Lien from rambling. "We're your friends, and we WANT to help you get the man of your dreams. The only thing you can do...and the most simple, is to TALK to Arthur."

"He doesn't appear in my dreams that much," Lien muttered.

Elizaveta facepalmed herself. "Not the point. Okay, fine, if you're too scared to talk to him face-to-face, at LEAST get his cell phone number, so you guys can have SOME kind of connection!" Elizabeta encouraged. Then she smirked. "Unless you're a coward."

"I am not a coward," Lien hissed, glaring at her friend. Then her eyes softened. "I-I'm just not that-"

"Much of a brave soul~" Elizabeta cut her off, giggling.

"I don't even know how to get his number!" Lien threw her arms in the air, clearly frustrated by her friend's teasing.

"Just ask his friends that hang around him a bunch~" Elizabeta replied.

"I don't think they count as his friends..." Natalia said, remembering the many times he tried to strangle so called friends in the hallways.

Lien shuddered. "B-but, one of them disgusts me..."

"Lien?" Elizabeta said sweetly.

"Yes?"

"Get your ass out there."

**XxXxXx**

Lien was probably NOT going to get advice from Elizabeta ever again.

After much provoking from the Hungarian, Lien decided to suck it up and look for said friends of Arthur. But as she saw the one with emotionless eyes going down her way she immediately turned around and walked right into the next classroom.

"Let me guess, a failure." Natalia frowned.

"Oh come on!" Elizabeta threw her arms in the air. "His friends are not murderers or rapists! Why are you so scared to talk to them?!"

"I'd like to see you try being in love with someone," Lien mumbled. "But that's long gone, isn't it?"

"Hey! I'm still in love with him, I've been dating him for two years, thank you very much!" Hungary waved her fingers around, glaring. "Don't bring my Roderich into this missy! Just because you're a COWARD doesn't mean you need to drag other people's love lives into this."

"You-"

"She has a point," Natalia said. "You really need to stop dragging this on. It's now or never."

"Says you. Look at how long you've been trying to get Ivan to marry you." Elizabeta laughed.

"He'll cave in one day."

And so, Lien tuned out the two's arguments as she considered her situation. They were right, in a way. She needed to get that number. She was a Vietnamese woman, there's no way she'd back out so easily!

So it was decided in her mind.

She would get his number.

**XxXxXxXx**

With all that worrying Lien may have overslept a little.

She groaned in frustration, stopping at the next light. She had fifteen minutes until school starter, and she was breathing hard. After all, she had run just about a mile in less than two minutes.

"Late?" someone next to her guessed. Lien turned around and met the amused eyes of an elderly lady. Lien bowed her head respectfully towards her.

"No, ma'am. Just in a hurry." Lien replied.

The woman shook her head in disapproval. "Everyone's in a hurry, especially you young ones. Why can't anyone enjoy life slowly?"

"Eh?"

"You young teenagers only seem to care about popularity, cell phones, shopping, money and...THAT. Back in my day as well, I certainly don't remember any bullies existing." The woman sighed. "This generation certainly is strange..."

"I don't think you should judge everyone because of what you see on television, ma'am." Lien said, frowning at the light that took forever to change. "The public tends to...exaggerate things a bit. But I can assure you, there are plenty of kind people in this world."

"Oh really?" The woman replied. It was really quiet around the area. "Well then, you don't seem have a broad view of the world, am I right? Tell me, what do you want right now the most?"

Ignoring the woman's comment about her view of the world, Lien responded with, "A phone number."

"A phone number?" the woman echoed, eye lighting in surprise.

"It's weird of me, isn't it?" Vietnam played with her fingers shyly, face flushing a little. "But I feel as if I could have the person I like phone number, then it would be easier for me to talk and confess. I'm not that confident in confessing face to face..." then she shuffled her feet, feeling embarrassed at herself. She had just told a complete stranger about her childish and immature desire, after all.

"So you want to form a connection with the person you like?" The woman smiled fondly.

"Yes, ma'am..." Lien replied quietly. "I would love to be with him..."

"Just keep on believing and don't waver in it. Who knows, you might have that desire come true someday." The light finally changed, and Lien blinked, as if she just came out of a trance. It was utterly loud now, cars honking, tires screeching against the asphalt and the loud roar of the area.

But...she was sure it was quiet just a moment again...

As she crossed the street, she glanced around to look for the woman, but with no luck. Maybe she had already disappeared within the crowd.

**XxXxXxXxx**

"Don't make fun of me!" Lien huffed.

"But...you just...had the weirdest conversation! And with an old lady at a crosswalk about your crush?!" Elizabeta spluttered, eyes lite up in amusement. Lien groaned. Why did she bother to attempt and tell Elizabeta about this anyway?

"Anyway, I SEE FRIEND AT NOON!" Elizabeta interrupted. Lien gulped and her legs inched backwards slightly.

"You're doing this for Arthur's phone number. Just remember that!" Elizabeta said, shoving Lien out and taking cover behind a corner. Lien yelped as she rammed into the friend, who simply blinked down at her.

"S-sorry!" Lien apologized.

"No problem," he replied, his eyes showing no emotion at all.

"Yo! Man, you're so lucky Lukas! You got a cute girl to run into you!" The man next to him laughed.

"...shut up. I swear, you're just as bad as Mathias." Lukas said, still not showing emotion. Then he turned to Lien. "What did you need?"

Lien gulped, suddenly losing all her confidence from yesterday. But, somehow she managed out, "D-do you have Arthur's phone number?"

"Hey! Do you want his number?" The American was in her line of vision, and Lien took a step back.

"Y-yes, as a matter of fact, I do. Thank you very much-"

"Sorry, but we can't give it to you." Lukas interrupted.

"Bleh, Arthur's number is what every girl is stopping us for recently," Alfred laughed. "But seriously, although you're cute and I love annoying the Brit, no can do~ if I give his number to you, I have to give it to the fifty other girls who had asked before, and he'll be getting calls every second! So sorry!"

"You seem like a kind person. Maybe you can try talking to him," Lukas suggested.

Lien bit her lip.

"And maybe leave a letter?" Alfred tapped his chin. "Bah, he gets those everyday."

"That's why you should just talk to him. He's not that hard to talk to," Lukas said.

"To YOU, maybe! Do you know how many times he's slapped my face and called me King of Pudge?!"

"That's because...you eat too much hamburgers. Anyway, I have to go now. Good luck." Lukas walked past Lien, and Alfred ran after him yelling about his video games, but also wishing Lien good luck.

"Meh. We tried," Elizabeta popped out of nowhere. "Last resort is to-"

"Don't. Just don't."

**XxXxXx**

Lien stared at the ceiling of her room, sighing in sadness. She had failed in getting Arthur's number, and Natalia's suggestion to talk was quickly shot down when Lien lost all confidence, and sending a letter wouldn't be helpful to her situation.

Lien decided to check that missed call she had from someone, but as she opened it she decided not to. Instead, she chose to scroll through her contacts list and beat herself over the fact she didn't have Arthur's number. Strange, somehow she had that American's number. She scrolled through her contacts. Alfred, Antonio, Arthur, Elizabeta-

Wait.

She scrolled back up in disbelief.

_Arthur Kirkland._

His number.

Displayed neatly, normally, and casually, almost.

She nearly flung her phone across the room in surprise, but now we go back to the beginning: Lien blinking rapidly as she stared at the number.

The area code was different, definitely, but Arthur probably lived in a different area, of course. No, it just had to be a dream. She had never talked to Arthur, let alone have obtained his phone number...

Or was it really a dream? Taking a huge leap of determination, Lien pressed the call button and pressed it to her ear, lip trembling and she found it kind of hard to breathe. It rang one time...and another...but on the third ring, someone picked up.

"Hello?"

It had to be him. That accented voice... "I-is this Arthur Kirkland?" Lien asked carefully.

There was a short pause, and then answered in hesitation and confusion, "Yes, this is him speaking."

"Erm..." Lien stuttered, at a loss for words at the sudden confirmation. Her heart sped up quickly and she was sure her face was red. "M-My name is Lien Nguyen. I just wanted to see if-"

She heard someone sounding as if they had chocked on something. "Y-you're Lien Nguyen?!"

Lien tilted her head to the side, dread filling her stomach. Why was he surprised? "Y-yes, I'm Lien..."

"Y-you...have my number? I didn't think you'd actually call..."

"Eh?" Did that mean Arthur was avoiding Lien on purpose? She bit her lip, her insides twisting. "I see...I-I apologize for-"

"Don't, love. I'm glad you called," Arthur cut in quickly. Lien's stomach did a flip-flop. "I'm just wondering how did you get my number?"

"Um..." Lien tried to find a way to explain without sounding stupid. "I don't have the faintest idea...it was just...there?"

She facepalmed herself at the answer.

"Oh."

"Uh-hm." Lien could only respond. There was a pregnant pause between the two. The little ball of pressure within Lien kept on growing bigger and bigger, and she knew she had to say something-

"Well, love, I know this may seem strange, out of the blue," Arthur beat her to saying something. "But perhaps, if you don't mind, after school, we could...hang out?"

She heard him slightly curse under his breath as if he was embarrassed to use that word?

"Eh?" Lien responded astoundingly.

"O-of course, love, if you don't want to, that's perfectly fine as well-"

"Oh, no! Of course it's fine!" Lien nearly jumped in excitement, but she was still mature, so she clutched her chest, trying to calm her breathing as she got up and scurried around the room, looking for a pen. Arthur had asked HER out. ARTHUR. Oh dear lord... "Wh-where would you like to go?"

"Anywhere you want to, love," he responded, and she was too excited to catch the tone of amusement he used.

"I don't care," Lien responded, finding a small calender she hung up over her desk. She circled the next date, which was tomorrow- October 21st. How was it that she was so upset just a few minutes ago, and now she felt like soaring with happiness?!

She heard Arthur chuckle over the phone. Oh, even though it wasn't a full laugh it still made her heart jump.

"How about this, love? We can meet together at school and talk about where we want to go, after we've had a night of thinking."

"O-of course," Lien said in a daze. "Sounds good to me."

And they hung up. Lien went over to the mirror and saw the edges of her lips twitching upwards. So Arthur was the only one who could make her smile?

**XxXxXx**

Lien usually went to school in the morning, around when Arthur would leave because he was in student council as well. The day matched her mood, and although her smile was gone, her eyes were shining in happiness. She had even hugged Yao and Yong Soo, which caused them to faint in shock and bewilderment.

Her feet stopped at the entrance, catching notice of Arthur who was walking down from the other side of the road. His brows were furrowed down in concentration and his eyes were focused on the book he was reading.

"Arthur!" she called, waving over excitedly at him.

She expected for him to look up, and have recognition shine on his face, or even a smile, but what she got was a confused expression. He sped up his pace so he was next to her.

"Pardon me, love," Arthur started, his voice polite. "But who are you?"

"Eh? We...talked last night..." Lien said. "L-Lien Nguyen?"

"We didn't talk last night." Arthur looked at Lien like she was slightly insane.

"You don't remember?" Lien recalled everything last night: The circled date, the call history, her contacts list...

"I'm sorry love, but I have to go now. I have a meeting," Arthur shook his head. At that moment, Lien's cell phone rang. Letting out an irriated sound, she dug into her pockets, mentally swearing that if it was Elizabeta calling about getting Arthur's number or something-

_Arthur Kirkland calling._

Lien nearly dropped her phone.

_Arthur Kirkland calling._

She squinted, stared, and even glared at the display, but it was still that name. She looked up, seeing the back of Arthur who had excused himself when she was distracted, heading to the entrance of the school and engrossed in the book he was reading.

Her heart caught in her throat as she turned her attention back to the name displayed on her phone.

_Arthur Kirkland calling._

It was clear as day that the Arthur here was not calling Lien at all. Lien answered it carefully, placing it to her ear as she listened carefully and blocking out everything else.

"Love...we need to talk..." Arthur said over the phone, his voice holding uncertainty.

Lien managed a glance at the Arthur there, who was entering the school with his book in hand, not even looking up once from it.

"Yes..." Lien said. "We certainly do."


	2. Chapter 2

Note: Wow...I got so many reviews. I'm so happy. ;_; AND ENGNAM SHALL TAKE OVER THE WoRLD, YES?!

:D

AND GUYZ. THE ENGNAM GROUP ON DEVIANTART NOW HAS 20 MEMBERS. IF YOU HAVE A DA GO JOIN!

Disclaimer: Don't own idea or Hetalia~ just own the story~

* * *

"Where are you, love?" Arthur's voice came over the phone in a confused tone.

"Where am I?" Lien repeated with disbelief. "I'm at school! You just...ignored me." Lien looked at the door Arthur had disappeared through. "Well, I guess that's exaggerating...you actually didn't remember me at all when I talked to you. And I'm certain you weren't on the phone when you just walked into the school!" The different messages blared through Lien's head as she quickly tried to piece this together.

Arthur had called her, but she did not see him do so. Arthur was talking to her over the phone and knew her but the Arthur Lien had just talked to didn't. Everything contradicted the other, nothing was making sense...

A prank.

That made sense. This was all a prank, an elaborate one that was set up to be at Lien's expense. Lien frowned, and forced out a dry chuckle, though her face showed no signs of amusement. "Now everything makes sense. This is all a joke, isn't it?"

"Wait, what?"

"Who are you?" Lien demanded. "You can stop this act now. I know you're not Arthur. I have no idea how you managed to sneak your number into my phone, but I swear, if this is all some prank-"

"I am Arthur, love." the voice said, confusion evident in their voice. "I don't see you anywhere, and I can assure you this isn't a prank...I'm right outside the school gates. I have no idea on what you're talking about..."

"This isn't funny. No one's at the school gates except for me." Lien said dryly, looking around to confirm her statement.

"But I am here...Gakuen High, exactly right next to the plaque," the voice sounded more and more irritated every passing second. "This isn't a prank."

Lien looked next to her, where the plaque was. She was standing exactly right next to it as well. If the voice she was talking to actually Arthur, then they should be standing at the same place right now...Lien gulped nervously. She felt dizzy slightly. It was a prank, it HAD to be a prank, or else none of this would even be possible. But, contrary to that, what kind of prank would go this far, to insist Lien's keen instincts were deceiving her? Lien knew where she was standing...

...Or did she?

At Arthur's repeated words, Lien responded weakly with, "...what?"

"Please, believe me love." the voice pleaded. "Ah-wait, I see you!" the voice's tone picked up more happily, then dropped back to confusion. "But, you're not on the phone?"

"I am on the phone," Lien replied flatly.

"But you're not! You're right there, love. Do you have Bluetooth? I'm waving you over right now...wait, love you're not looking over...love-"

"That's not me," Lien said, feeling some new facts come to light. But first, she laid out the ones she had gathered so far.

This person's phone number had gotten into her phone, for one. For two, this person sounded a lot like, if not exactly, like Arthur Kirkland. The Arthur Lien knows does not recognize her. The Lien this Arthur knows most likely does not know this Arthur.

Lien gulped in realization.

"What?" Arthur, the one over the phone, said in disbelief. "What do you mean, that's not you-"

"Well, that's because at this moment..." Lien said. "I'm still standing next to the plaque of Gakuen High."

"But, you just went into the school..."

"No, I didn't. I'm still standing outside." Lien said back calmly, now certain of her theory.

"That's not possible!" the Arthur over the one sounded really frustrated, and it seemed as if he was struggling to keep his voice calm. "I just saw you walk inside, so you can't possible be outsi-"

"Arthur." Lien said in a tone of authority, causing the man to stop mid-sentence. "Don't you understand? We're in different worlds."

Silence.

It was only silence over the line, but slowly and hesitantly, Arthur spoke once more. "Like...alternate...universes?"

"That is correct."

Another silence from him, and then he said: "That's...illogical..."

"Yes, it does seem that way, but think. There's no other way to explain this," Lien said, leaning against the wall. "And it's the closest thing we have that makes sense, besides all of this being a prank..."

"...but..." Arthur's voice seemed tired. "I haven't done any mag..." he cut himself off.

"It doesn't make sense...but it's the only thing I can think of." Now, if she was with Yao, he would probably be disagreeing for the better or worst. God knew how religious and superstitious that man was.

"Tell me...about your world." Arthur spoke up suddenly.

"Eh?"

"If the only explanation is for us to be in alternate universes, then there must be some things different." Arthur said, suddenly sounding serious and more...solid and analytic, sounding similar to when he would help other students with homework, or like her when she helped other students...well, not like she listened over in the library when he had tutoring lessons.

"Well, you have my number, I have your number..." Lien started, shaking herself out of her fantasy.

"But the you I know doesn't know me, and the me you know doesn't know you," Arthur finished. Lien mulled over those differences in her head. Sure, she and Arthur would pass each other in the hallways or maybe be in the same classes, but she was sure he didn't know her. Especially not well enough to ask her out, what he did last night(or this Arthur)...that was something Lien knew that the Arthur she knew would never do...so, it just meant that-

"Our positions are reversed." Arthur concluded over the phone, startling Lien. So he had come to the same conclusion after all. That also meant...

"So you like Lien," Lien said. "Erm, well, the Lien of your world..."

"W-w-well, i-it's embarrassing if you say it straight out...l-like that..."

"It's true though, right?" Lien chuckled at the sound of Arthur Kirkland stuttering. She could even imagine his face, all flustered and so unlike him. But, despite this situation it caused a small smile to lift upon her face.

"I-I suppose so, love..." Arthur muttered.

"Then that means, we're the same!" Lien realized, leaning off of the wall. "Both of us...we like the other selves of the other world."

"Well, y-yes, but how does that help? We can't see each other-"

"Well, yes, but who knows ourselves better than anyone?" Lien said, excitement rising in her.

"W-well, us, obviously...oh." He realized where she was going with this.

"Yeah! We can give each other advice on how to win over ourselves!" Lien said. No matter how weird that sounded... "You can tell me about yourself to help me win over the Arthur in my world." Again, Lien felt weird saying it like that. "And I can tell you about myself so you can win over the Lien in your world!"

On the other end of the phone, there was a sharp intake of breath. "You have a point..."

"I'm glad I make sense." Lien sighed in relief. "Elizabeta says that I'm a little slow and dense sometimes."

Arthur gave a chuckle. "You seem to be close to Elizabeta."

"Of course," Lien responded. "Elizabeta grew up with me, we live across the street. And also, Natalia's my neighbor. The three of us grew up together, actually. We've even made a name for ourselves."

"Hmm, that explains it." Arthur said thoughtfully.

"Ah...I'm also curious. What about...Lukas? And Alfred?"

"Ugh. Alfred, that stupid git. He's my cousin," Arthur said, his voice sounding as if it was in a scowl. "But, Lukas is my childhood friend as well. We both have similar hobbies and interests, you see."

"Really?" Lien asked. "What kind?"

"Erk." Arthur coughed. "W-well...you wouldn't believe me if I told you."

Lien opened her mouth to reply, but then she spotted Elizabeta and Natalia staring at her like she was crazy. Natalia was gesturing towards the school. "Oh! School's about to start! I need to go."

"You're right," Arthur sounded surprised as well. "I have to go as well. Talk to you later, love!"

Lien managed a quick agreement and slammed her phone shut before Elizabeta came running up next to her. She shoved her phone in her pocket before she had a chance to see the caller ID.

"Who were you calling?" Elizabeta asked slyly. "Did somebody get a certain someone's phone number?"

It was a simple question, but with everything that had happened so far, Lien had no idea on how to answer that question. She had obtained Arthur's phone number...but at the same time, it wasn't Arthur's phone number. She bit her lip and decided to lie.

"Well, no. I was talking to Yao." Lien said simply. She wasn't sure what Elizabeta would think about her if Lien told her about the alternate universe. She'd probably call her crazy in Hungarian and tease her forever.

"We were surprised when you weren't at your house this morning," Natalia didn't look happy as she walked up. "Yao told us you got up way freaking earlier than usual, and we already know you usually get up at seven."

Crap. That was really suspicious, now that Lien thought about it. she couldn't think of an excuse, besides... "I just like the morning air? It's refreshing, after all."

They looked at her with skeptic looks.

"You're crazy." Elizabeta said simply.

"She's Lien," Natalia said. "And the gates close in a few minutes. We really should get to school now.

"Crap!" Elizabeta jumped. "Let's go!"

Lien shook her head in amusement as she watched her two best friends run towards the school. She followed after them, but her mind was on one thing.

Arthur.

**xxxXXXXXxxxxxXXXX**

_From: Arthur Kirkland  
To: Lien Nguyen  
Have you received this text?_

"Lien~ what're you staring at?" Elizabeta asked, hand on her cheek. "You've been glued to your phone lately, and usually you aren't. What's up with that, eh?" she looked at Natalia for confirmation, who shrugged.

"Um, new game." Lien responded.

New game. Right. Lien gave a small smile and typed out a reply.

_From: Lien Nguyen_  
_To: Arthur Kirkland  
Yes, I have. So, what's going on?_

"Lien. Hello, Lien." Elizabeta waved a hand in front of her face.

"What is it?" Lien asked, not affected by the waving of Elizabeta's hand. She kept her golden eyes fixated on the phone as her mind thought of the new possibilities this window of opportunity opened. And even more, her phone could send pictures, and maybe Arthur's could too. Another window of opportunity, right...?

"...Lien, you look like an idiot, the way you're staring at your phone." Natalia said bluntly.

Lien opened her mouth to retort, frowning. But before she could, her phone vibrated and she hurriedly opened the text.

_From: Arthur Kirkland  
To: Lien Nguyen  
I'm eating lunch at the moment. Are you free to talk as well?_

Without hesitation, Lien shot up from her seat, keeping her focus on the phone. "I need to call someone."

Elizabeta snorted and Natalia arched an eyebrow. "During lunch break? Really?"

"Yes." Lien said plainly. "It's important."

Then she left, leaving her two friends to stare after her.

"What's up with her again?"

"I have no idea."

**xxxx**

"So, how has school been?" Lien asked politely, leaning against the wall of the bathroom.

"It's been very good, love." Arthur replied. Lien gulped at that. "So, I guess we can exchange tips, now?"

"Well, yes." Lien said, clearing her throat. "Would you like to start?"

"W-well, I just don't know what to start with, love..."

"Ah, I'll go first then." Lien straightened her back. "My name is Lien Nguyen, and I'm a third year student at Gakuen High..."

Arthur chuckled. "I knew that much, love."

"S-sorry, I'm not really good at introductions..." Lien muttered. "Erm, I enjoy gardening. I actually have my own garden at home."

"Really, now?" Arthur sounded surprised.

"Y-yes..." Lien fiddled with the hem of her skirt, embarrassed slightly. But for some reason, she felt more relaxed and comfortable, talking to this Arthur over the phone. She didn't know why, maybe it was because he was different. Sure, in a way, he was still Arthur, but he wasn't too uneasy to talk to as the Arthur Lien knew. Perhaps it was because of the fact it was over the phone? Or maybe because they were in such similar situations that Lien's usual shyness went away. "I grow lotus flowers, most of all, but I do have a variety of others as well.:

"I see. Lotus flowers do seem to suit you, love..." Arthur muttered. Lien gulped again. There was that feeling again. She waited for Arthur to speak, but there was a silence.

"Arthur?'

"Geh!" there was a sound of surprise. "S-sorry, love. I was just writing something down..."

"...you were writing down..." Lien thought for a second. "That I love gardening?"

"..."

Lien giggled. "That's highly curious of you. I didn't think you would be the type of person to write things like this down."

"W-well, I'm serious about this, love..."

Lien tilted her head to the side, imagining the air of mystery that surrounded Arthur and his expressions. "Yes...I'm serious as well. So, tell me something about yourself this time."

"Right..." Arthur paused. "This may seem strange, but I love rain. Where I came from, London, it rained everyday. It doesn't rain that much here, so anytime it rains I guess I'll go and stand outside."

"Ah. That's understandable." Lien agreed. "The smell of rain is rather pleasant."

"I also like cooking," Arthur added thoughtfully.

"Oh!" Lien said. "S-so, if I were to come up to you and ask if you would like to come cook-"

"Wait a moment, love." Arthur said. "No matter how much I love cooking, if a stranger came up to me and asked me to cook with them, I probably wouldn't. In fact, I'd probably..." Arthur trailed off, as if he was ashamed to say what happened next.

"Eh? We're not strangers though." Lien said, not catching Arthur's pause.

"In your world, we are." Arthur reminded. "Love...you said you talked to me today and I didn't recognize you?"

"Yes?"

"That could be bad."

"Eh? How?"

"Well, just think for a moment, love. You're walking to school, and suddenly a stranger pops out of nowhere and starts talking with you, no less about talking WITH you over the phone last night..."

"...oh no..."

"No matter how adorable that stranger is..." Arthur whispered inaudibly. But Lien didn't hear that, she was filling with worry inside.

"I-I even tried to ask Lukas for your phone number yesterday as well! You're going to think I'm a...freak." Lien whispered in dread. It hadn't even begun but it seemed like it was over already!

"..." Arthur thought for a moment. "Oh, I can't believe I'm suggesting this." he muttered crossly. "Love, don't worry! You can talk to Alfred, he'll help you."

"...Alfred?" Lien echoed, trying to keep disbelief out of her face as she slumped against the wall. "Why...Alfred?"

"As much as the git annoys me," Arthur said. "Alfred tells me about a lot of people. So, if you talk with him a lot, he'll see that you're a good woman, and he'll tell me that. But he better keep his hands off of you..." Arthur murmured the last part in a threatening tone.

But sadly, Lien didn't hear it as well.

"I guess..." Lien sighed. "If you say so. I'll talk with Alfred after lunch break. Alfred..." she winced, already imagining the many possiblities of this going wrong.

"Don't worry too much love. He's an idiot, but he'll help."

"Right...well, lunch is almost over. I'll call you later, I have to go."

"Alright, love."

**xxxXXXxxxXXXxxxXXXxxxXXXxxx**

It was after school. The sun was setting in hues of red and orange, casting shadows behind Lien, Elizabeta and Natalia as they walked home. Lien was silent, as always, Elizabeta was talking about how school was and Natalia kept on staring at Lien with a slightly worried look. Sure, Lien was quiet, but this time, the kind of quirt of she bearing...seemed different.

At the same time, Lien was thinking...more so dreading on how to talk to Alfred. After their last encounter, how could she? She had messed up big time this time...she sighed and hung her head.

"Alright." Natalia stopped and walked in front of Lien. "What's up? You've been acting weird all day.

"Nothing," Lien said dejectedly. "I'm just wondering, do the two of you know much about Alfred?"

Elizabeta's jaw dropped. "Alfred?! I-I didn't think this would happen so fast...so the heart of a teenage girl does change fast...please don't tell me you're in love with Alfred-"

"That's completely and entirely wrong," Lien growled. "I just need to talk to him. I screwed things up this morning, talking to Arthur, and I'm pretty sure he thinks I'm a loon now."

Elizaveta rolled her eyes. "You're exaggerating, Lien. No one thinks you're a loon."

"Arthur might," Lien replied stubbornly.

"Good grief." Natalia sighed. "Why talk to the American fatass if the misunderstanding is with the British gentleman? Why can't you just talk it out with Arthur instead?"

"Ah, yeah, no. Impossible, not happening." Lien disagreed, shaking her head no.

"If you're going to DATE him, you have to talk to him eventually." Natalia said flatly. "It's not that hard, Lien."

"Of course I know that..." Lien sighed. How could she explain? "It's difficult. This morning, I said...something strange to him, so he'll thinks I'm a loon now."

"You're capable of explaining all of that." Natalia groaned.

"It's complicated," Lien repeated, fighting back the urge to reply with "umm...not really". "Anyway, I just want to know if you know anything about Alfred, that's all."

_"Fine."_ Natalia hissed out. "The idiot is in the newspaper club." She thought for a moment. "That's all, right?" she asked Elizabeta.

"How am I supposed to know?" Elizabeta replied with indignation. "Besides that, Lien, you're acting realllly weird today. You've been glued to your phone all day, and there's no way you were calling your mom or playing a new game. We're your friends, so tell us!"

"..." Lien's thoughts swirled. How did she know if anything bad would happen if she told Elizabeta and Natalia about Phone Arthur? Maybe they wouldn't believe her either? Even if they did, what would happen? Perhaps she should tell Phone Arthur first, before telling her own friends. After all, even if they were in alternate universes, it could affect his world as well! "I...I'm not sure if I shou;d..."

"_What_?!" Elizabeta screeched. "We've been friends since kids, we've created the Strongest Trio in the whole neighborhood, what _can't_ you trust us with?!"

"I-it's not like that-" Lien cut herself off as she came into view of her house. Relief flooded through her, finally! No more of their questioning. She turned back to face them. "Oh, looks like I'm back at home! I have a lot of homework to do, so we'll-"

"You're trying to get rid of us." Elizabeta said flatly.

"I agree with her," Natalia said in monotone.

"..." Sometimes she hated the fact her friends were so stubborn. She looked away. "We have a test this week. "I need to study for that."

Elizabeta let out an exasperated groan. "Fine. But we're not done with you yet." She pointed a frying pan -where did that come from?- at Lien. "You will explain everything tomorrow. No running away! All the Alfred stuff, all the phone stuff, yada yada. Face the wrath of the frying pan if you try to run!"

"We're just worried about you," Natalia cut in.

Lien sighed and dug through her pocket, brushing the cover of her phone. "Sure. I'll...let you know. See you tomorrow then." They all said their goodbyes with that said and left. Lien entered her house, calling out a "I'm home" in a glum voice. (Yao was surprised, all her happiness seems to be gone with school). Lien forced herself to walk upstairs. How was she supposed to explain...everything, to Elizabeta and Natalia tomorrow? How was she going to talk to Alfred in the first place? Joining the newspaper seemed a lot, Lien still had a stack of homework for her AP classes...

She flopped onto her bed, rolling over with a tired sigh as she got out her phone. She stared at the screen, which was at the contact book.

_Arthur Kirkland._

"Arthur...Kirkland..." she whispered, in a mysterious way, before pressing the green, call button.


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: I don't own Hetalia or plot idea, but I do own le story~

Thanks for all the reviews guys! I love you all!

3

* * *

"Well," Lien trailed off. "Now Elizaveta and Natalia are getting suspicious."

"..." There was a short silence over the line, possible because Arthur considered what Lien had said. Then he spoke, "It's only been a day...I didn't think you'd be bad in keeping secrets..." he laughed.

Lien blushed at his laugh and words. "I-I'm not bad at keeping secrets! They've been my friends since childhood, they just know me too well!" Lien ran a hand through her hair in frustration. "I even think they know all of my weaknesses as well."

"..." Another brief silence. Then, "If they know everything, why don't you ask them to help us with this? I won't mind if you tell them."

"...eh? Really?" she asked.

"Really," Arthur confirmed, voice seeming as if he fully approved the idea. "Why not, love?"

"Well..." Lien searched for the right words. "Won't bringing more cross-dimensional talking into this line make everything more dangerous? The dimensional barriers would break or something! Also, Elizabeta would call me crazy in Hungarian and tease me forever."

"...nothing would break, love," Arthur responded. Then he added tentatively, "I think, anyway. But if they talk directly to me, they should know it's the truth."

"I don't know," Lien sighed. "My friends can be suspicious of things...ah, I'm curious, what's your email address?"

"...email?" Arthur repeated, sounding surprised. "AIBGpro at msn."

"A...I...B...G...pro?" Lien repeated slowly, to make sure she would say it right. "What's that from?"

"Nothing too important," Arthur said, tone light and slightly evasive. "And yours?"

"..." Lien was very, very hesitant in giving it out. It wasn't that she didn't trust him, it was just...her email name was...

"LotusBloomsAgain at gmail..."

"...LotusBloomsAgain?" he sounded more intrigued than weirded out.

"It's a long story," Lien murmured, flushing.

"Oh no love, I didn't mean that in a bad way," Arthur reassured, and was about to say something, but remembered another thing. "Wait, why do you ask all of a sudden though? Are our alter egos using the same email?"

Lien paused. She sure wasn't eager to send an email to the handsome, popular school idol Arthur at the moment. And especially after what had happened this morning? That would break Lien's image even more than it had been already. "I have no idea..." she admitted.

"There's no way for me to send my Lien a message either. She probably doesn't even know me," Arthur sighed.

A pause filled the air as both humans just sat there, not knowing how to work this newly acquired information out. Then, Lien's mind kicked back into gear. "You're in the student council, right Arthur?"

"Eh? W-well, yes-"

"Perfect! Don't the student council send out announcements to students once in a while?"

"Ye-"

"You can send a false one to my email. I'll tell you if I get anything. Make it something not too conspicuous, like..." she didn't know what to think of.

"Well, it can't be something random," Arthur mused. "We don't send announcements like happy whatever day."

"Hmm...it's not like anyone reads them anyways," Lien pointed out. From what her friends told her, they delete it on sight. And Lien herself would read it once in a while.

"Wh-what?" Arthur sounded shocked. "No one reads them?" Then he sounded as if he was frowning. "That's cruel, love. What if it was me writing those announcements in your universe? You should be saving personal correspondence from your crush in a special folder."

"Heh," Lien said. "But, you don't really write them, despite being the President. Doesn't Feliciano write them?"

"...maybe."

"It's kind of obvious, there's always a pasta background in those announcements when I don't delete them," Lien said.

"So the Feliciano of your universe likes pasta too..." Arthur said. "We're the ones pretty much different, our universes are basically the same.

"That's a good point," Lien leaned back against her head. "It's a statistical anomaly, in a way. You'd think things would be different, otherwise it wouldn't really be an alternate universe." Lien sighed. "Though, I suppose the less different, the better."

"Right...the less different, the better..." Arthur echoed. "I wonder if there is anything else different over there though..."

"Well," Lien cut in, sitting up as she made her way to her laptop. "Send a student council email about...a new printer or something. I'll inform you if I get it."

Arthur gave a grunt, and there was a creaking noise, as if he was lazily getting up from something. "LotusBloomsAgain at gmail, right?"

"Uhh-hmm," Lien responded, still a little embarrassed about it.

She could hear a few clicking sounds, and the clack of keyboard keys. Then, "I'm done."

"All right," Lien opened the internet and logged in to her email, checking her inbox and found...nothing.

"There's nothing," Lien confirmed.

"What? I sent it, and it's a valid email. Perhaps it's taking a while. Wait for a few minutes?" Arthur suggested.

"Okay..." Lien frowned, refreshing her inbox and leaned against her chair. She watched the hands on her clock tick slowly, one by one, and soon four minutes had passed. Lien shook her head. "No email."

"...if it's a valid email," Arthur started. "Then perhaps the email address is the same as the ones over here. Why are only the phone numbers different?" he wondered.

"It's weird," Lien agreed, placing her elbows on her desk. "Well, it's a shame."

"Yes, it is...anyway, what were we talking about?"

"..." Lien didn't want to answer.

"Natalia and Elizaveta, right?"

Darn. He remembered.

"I don't see why you can't tell them."

"It's...difficult to explain," Lien said, biting her lip. Her friends were the strangest, sometimes she felt as if she didn't know them as well as they knew her. She could see herself bring dragged out to do more ridiculous things with Elizaveta's enthusiasm, and on another hand, she hadn't talked to Alfred yet. She needed to do that soon, if she wanted to talk with Arthur...the Arthur in her world.

She gave an inaudible sigh. It was raining, and in this scene, Arthur was holding the umbrella. Her hand was wrapped about his, and they were walking down the road, together...

"...love? Lien?"

"A-ah," Lien blinked, coming back to reality. "Yes?"

"You were spacing out."

"O-oh," Lien blushed. "I-I'm sorry. What was I saying?"

"Elizaveta and Natalia. Why can't you tell them?" Arthur said, seeming to sound very patient.

"It's difficult to explain," Lien wasn't very fond of this return back to the original topic.

"I know, you just said that. Let's not get into an infinite loop of this, love..."

"B-but, it's just, this cross-dimensional alternate universes stuff! We barely believe it ourselves, and it's crazy enough as it is," Lien argued. "It's not like they'll say, "Oh~ we believe you Lien~", just like that!" She even did a horrible impersonation of Elizaveta's voice.

"I don't see why they won't believe you," Arthur argued back.

"Then, how about telling Alfred and...Lukas, was it? How about telling them about me?" she asked. "It's hard, right?" she added.

"...not really. I told them already anyway."

"What?!" Lien almost fell out of her chair. "Y-you're serious?"

"Why would I be joking?" Arthur responded, amused. "Just tell your friends. What could go wrong?"

Lien sighed, having admitted defeat. Arthur wasn't going to relent on this subject at all. She would just have to put up with Elizaveta's teasing. "Alright. But don't say I didn't tell you so. They don't believe everything, you know."

**xxxXXXxxxXXXxxxXXXxxx**

"Oh~ we believe you Lien~" Elizaveta spoke up, grinning at her friend while Natalia nodded.

Lien did a double take. "...what? You don't need me to call him?"

"Nope!" Elizaveta shook her head. "This is such a ridiculous lie, it has to be the truth~ you're a smart girl Lien, you wouldn't be so stupid a to try to convince us of another universe when you're lying~"

The fact that was put, it took Lien a while to fully comprehend that. Sweatdropping, she decided to pretend she knew what her friend had said. "So...honestly, are you okay with me talking with an Arthur from another dimension/universe/world?

"Actually," Natalia cut in, brows furrowed in a slight frown. "I don't think that's the best idea.

"Eh?!" Lien and Elizaveta turned to their friend at the same time. They looked at each other with large eyes.

"This is strange. We actually agree with each other," Lien said.

Elizaveta laughed, but then she looked at Natalia. "This is absolutely perfect! How could this go wrong in any way? Other Arthur can help Lien with this Arthur! Ez tökéletes! It's perfect! You know how Lien is!"

"Wh-what is that supposed to mean?" Lien demanded.

"That's true," Natalia nodded, ignoring Lien.

Lien hung her head in despair and slight shame.

"Well? What could go wrong?" Elizaveta asked.

"Well, there IS this possibility of...well, this is another universe we're talking about, right? It's not like you can ever see the other Arthur..."

"I don't get it," Elizaveta responded plainly. "Why would Lien need to see the other Arthur when she has this Arthur? It's the same person, there's no different at all! I think you worry too much sometimes, Natalia."

Natalia growled. "I was just saying-"

"Let me just handle this," Elizaveta pat Natalia's head. "Man, both are you are helpless. We have a worrier and a coward. It's up to me to save all of you from your lameness!" Elizaveta declared.

Smack.

Natalia smoothed out her hair bow as Elizabeta rubbed her own head, muttering Hungarian curses. "Lien, you didn't explain why you needed to talk to Alfred," she muttered.

"Ah. It's because Phone Arthur told me if I talked to Alfred, she could tell my Arthur that-"

"Whoa~ using possesiveness in the relationship already?" Elizaveta whistled. Lien blushed again.

"Hey! It's just to tell them apart in conversation!" Lien gloomed.

"Keep telling yourself that. Anyways, you want Alfred as a way into the relationship with Arthur, right?" Elizabeta said thoughtfully. "You should join the newspaper club."

"...that's a large step..."

"You should do something!" Elizaveta groaned. "You wouldn't even join the school orchestra with me, Natalia and Roderich! You're a really good singer too! Choir? You love gardening! GARDENING CLUB?! HELLLOOOO?!"

"The school orchestra does nothing but fatten up on brownies and talk about random stuff. The choir club is filled with far better singers than me, and there is no gardening club in this school."

"...szuka. Anyway, if you join the newspaper club, you'd be with Alfred on a lot of assignments. For someone like you, that might be the only choice, and plus, it's what Phone Arthur said too. Think smart for once, you might get to interview the school idol student council president~"

Lien shuddered. Interviewing Arthur, even despite her own conversations with Phone Arthur, talking with the actual Arthur would still be...intimidating. Still, if it was for him...

"I'll do it," Lien said slowly, as if she was already regretting as she spoke.

"Great! It's decided, right after school, join the newspaper club!"

"..." Natalia sighed. "I still don't think this whole phone thing is a good idea," she spoke quietly, so no one could hear.

**xxxXXXXxxxXXXxxx**

Lien stood outside in the hallway awkwardly. Elizaveta had told her sternly to wait outside for Alfred to come out of class and ask to join the newspaper club. Of course, it was far too late in the year to join officially, but their school was pretty loose about things like that(...there was even a Going Home After School Club). Anyway, Lien could join unofficially and then sign up for the club next year, officially.

But it's not as if she actually wanted to join permanently. She was already shy enough, and the world of journalism would just destroy her. She tapped her foot on the floor, waiting. Then, as the door slid open to reveal Alfred, blabbering cheerily with Alice(the famed sister of the school's idol), Lien struggled to overcome her shyness.

"Um...excuse me..." she stuttered out. Alfred and Alice stopped, and looked.

"Hey, you're that chick who ran into Lukas the other day and asked me for Arthur's phone number!" Alfred beamed. "What is it?"

"Geh.."

Alice stared at her for a bit, turning back towards Alfred with a confused look. "Wait, so it's another Arthur fan?"

It? Lien thought sourly to herself. Gee, thanks.

"Well, you know how popular he is!" Alfred laughed obnoxiously.

"I want to join the newspaper club!" Lien blurted out quickly.

Her outburst was joined by silence as Alfred and Alice stared at her. However, Alfred specifically, was looking thoughtfully.

"Dude, you want to join? Really?"

"Yes," Lien said firmly.

"Well, do you wanna be a reporter, or do you want to do things like editing? Or layout? or marketing?"

"Marketing?" Alice repeated, looking at Alfred suspiciously. "Why does the school paper need to be marketed? It's the only school paper! Is that the reason the budget for you club has been running out so quickly, you-"

"Nah~ those are for our food trips," Alfred said nonchalantly. "Marketing is important, anyway! We also advertise other things, it's not just for the newspaper~"

"Oh okay- wait just a bloody minute. Food trips?"

"U-um-" This was going off topic fast...

"Whoops! Sorry!" Alfred laughed and turned to Lien. "Alice here can get really uptight at times. She's the treasurer AND on top of that, she's Artie's sis, so she has this huge stick up her-"

"Shut the bloody hell up before I kill you, you git."

"Anyway, what is it you want to do? The newspaper club always needs new members!"

"Erm, I didn't think too much about it," Lien said hesitantly.

"Hmmmmmmm," Alfred looked thoughtful as he rubbed his chin. "Well, how about I take you over so you can check out all the cool things we do? If you can't find anything, well...there's always being a gofer." He grinned.

"A...gofer?"

"Yup," Alfred responded, waving a casual goodbye to Alice as he motioned for Lien to follow him. "A gofer. Bascially, doing things like fetching coffee, filing papers, and hambu-I mean, food runs. I've always wanted a gofer in the office!" Alfred grinned. "We spent a lot of late hours at school, and going out for hamburg-I mean, food can be a pain sometimes. Hey, if you're a gofer, we wouldn't even need to move!" He laughed. "How efficient!"

"That doesn't sound too bad," Lien said. Fetching coffee, filing papers, doing...food runs, didn't sound too difficult. How much coffee and food could one stomach anyway?

"Whoa, really? Most people wouldn't do that kind of thing," Alfred frowned slightly. "You really okay with it?"

Lien wasn't interesting in writing or editing, it wasn't her thing. She shrugged, "Yeah, I'm fine."

Alfred whistled lowly. "That's intense, babe. Nice seeing someone devoted to goferism though. I like you already!" He slapped Lien on the back. "Plus, as a bonus you can creep on Artie's files. I bet that's what you really wanted, right? Don't lie!"

"What?!" She felt herself heating up. What was up with everyone teasing her? First Elizaveta...now Alfred? "That's not why I joined...I just wanted to get to know Arthur. I don't want to read his files, besides, that's an invasion of privacy!"

"In the newspaper club," Alfred said ominously. "There is no such thing as privacy." He opened the door to the club room and Lien peeked in.

The room was larger than she had thought. Piles of paper reached the ceiling almost, stacked everywhere from chairs, desks, and even the floor. Students typed busily on laptops, file cabinets were open and very messy. There was a door on the side with the words "Da Dark Room" painted on it in bright, green letters, and there were printer/scanner/fax machines that spouted out things endlessly. Lien couldn't believe her eyes. It was a strangely large newspaper club for a high school...and strangely a busy one, at that.

"We also share space with the photography club, and I also ask the student council fo' money," Alfred said, pointing to the printers and 'Da Dark Room'. "Let me introduce you to everyone~"

The following minutes came to Lien as a blur, with Alfred introducing Lien to everyone...well, if the word introduced had a new meaning like shoving Lien into other people, making them shake hands, giving a quick name exchange before repeating the process with others. Lien barely managed to remember the names Francis, Emma, Sakura, Amelia and Antonio. In the end she stood where she started, feeling very dizzy.

"That's about it!" Alfred said. "Well, there's not much empty space-ah! If you clean up those papers and file them over there, you can have that desk? Cool? Cool!" Not even waiting a response Alfred charged out of the room, leaving a regretful Lien who was sulking inside. It became clear to her that it would be like free labor then being an actual club member.

Lien heaved a sigh, slumping over to the papers and cleaning them up. The desk nearby was Amelia's, and she gave Lien a sympathetic look.

"How'd you get stuck with being a gofer?" she asked.

"A long story..." Lien muttered.

"My brother is insensitive..." Amelia sighed. "I apologize, I'll need to talk to him..." she ran a hand through her hair. "Anyway, after you're done cleaning those papers up, if you'd like, you can help me out with editing."

"Thank you," Lien responded.

"So, why did you join?"

"Erk..." Lien said weakly, looking at the ground. "I..kind of wanted to get to know Arthur a little bit more."

"...so you joined the newspaper club? Interesting. Did you hope to interview him or something?"

"Not really," Lien said. "Alfred and Arthur seem to be good friends, so I thought..." she trailed off, facepalming herself. This was all Elizaveta's idea! What was she thinking? "Ugh."

"Erm...well..." Amelia laughed nervously, deciding not to tell Lien Arthur practically hated Alfred's guts. She would know, she was Alfred's sister, after all. "I hope you enjoy your time here!"

"Thanks..."

**xxxXXXXxxxxXXXXxxxx**

"Yo! Artie, you're done with student council early!" Alfred gave a wave as he approached him in the hall. "What's up?"

Arthur ignored the given nickname. "Alice tells me you've been wasting budget again."

"Wasting budget?!" Alfred gasped in mock surprise. "Me! No way, dude! The newspaper club manages its finances super carefully, after all!"

"Oh really?" Arthur responded, unamused.

"Yuppers! Anyway, we have a new member now," Alfred grinned. "Erm, I think it was Lien Nguyen? She's quite the hot chick, you know."

"Lien Nguyen?" Arthur repeated.

"Lien Nguyen!" Alfred nodded.

"That lady..." Arthur looked at the ceiling. "Sounds familiar."


	4. Chapter 4

I AM SO SORRY FOR THE LATE UPDATE.

But hey! My EngNam writing muse is coming back! My drawing muse isn't quite back yet, but I hope I'm getting there.

So here's chapter four!

I don't own Hetalia and the idea of Connections was inspired by 'Cellphones'!

* * *

_Previously..._

_"Yo! Artie, you're done with student council early!" Alfred gave a wave as he approached him in the hall. "What's up?"_

_Arthur ignored the given nickname. "Alice tells me you've been wasting budget again."_

_"Wasting budget?!" Alfred gasped in mock surprise. "Me! No way, dude! The newspaper club manages its finances super carefully, after all!"_

_"Oh really?" Arthur responded, unamused._

_"Yuppers! Anyway, we have a new member now," Alfred grinned. "Erm, I think it was Lien Nguyen? She's quite the hot chick, you know."_

_"Lien Nguyen?" Arthur repeated._

_"Lien Nguyen!" Alfred nodded._

_"That lady..." Arthur looked at the ceiling. "Sounds familiar."_

**XxXxXxXxXxX**

"Well, she's this hot chick who's probably another fan of yours. For the past few days, she asked about you," Alfred grinned.

Arthur sighed, shaking his head. "Another fan, huh... I don't understand. I'm just a normal man."

"You claim you're a gentleman but you spit out curses in British slang. Also your scones. One day you'll curse at your scones."

A whack at the American's head. "Shut up! I won't do something as ridiculous as that, wanker!"

"Also your magic-"

"Alfred. Shut. Up."

"Anyway, even if she's Asian, she's pretty cute. I guess what they say about Asian chicks are true. They're cute and submissive." A grin spread across his face as he said that so casually.

"... Excuse me?" Arthur did not... like how that sounded.

"You heard me dude. I was joking about the newspaper club needing a gofer, but she up and volunteered for it~ Seems like she's easy to please. Though, Amelia's telling me to be easy on her. She's probably gonna drag her into editing, since their desks are next to each other. Well, at least I have someone to get me hamburgers now!"

"Wasting the club budget on trivial things like that, huh..."

"Don't be like that~! But hey, to help our image, you should totally visit us. The presence of the Student Council President, Arthur Kirkland, would grace everyone and make them work way fast."

"Don't be stupid," Arthur said, though a small smile was on his face.

"Hm~" Alfred ignored the insult. "Well, when you do stop by, I'll introduce you to Lien. Since she's a fan, you can probably sign something."

"Maybe. But no promises," Arthur sighed.

**XxXxXxXxXXXXxxxX**

Lien curled up on her bed, an exhausted sigh heaving from her chest as she closed her eyes. "They... are slave-drivers," she managed to gasp out. "I want to sleep..."

Natalia and Elizabeta exchanged glances, both girls frowning.

"What's with the whole gofer thing? That's like you're asking to be bossed around. Do you KNOW what gofer even means?"

"..."

"I'll take your silence as a no." Elizabeta crossed her arms. "It's the bottom of the food chain, Lien! The most troublesome position, the one they throw under the bus! The one that only serves! SERIOUSLY. You're not getting paid for it. Really now, you would have been better off in layout or editing."

"... They share some of their lunch with me at times..." Lien offered softly.

The Europeans exchanged glances and sighs of hopelessness. "You are certainly one of a kind," Natalia said.

Lien echoed their sighs and reached out, hugging her pillow. "I haven't seen Arthur once. I've been in the newspaper club a week and nothing's changed..." Though Alfred obnoxiously said at times she was good at lifting boxes and getting hamburgers.

One day she'll shove those hamburgers up his ass.

One day.

Aside from that, Lien hadn't even gotten closer to winning over Arthur.

"Patience is a virtue," Pone Arthur gave that advice the last time they talked. At that time, Lien was sulking on her bed, staring at the rain pattering against her window. "This takes time, you know."

"Sure..." Lien had replied. "... How's your luck coming along?"

"Well, since you told me about your liking of pho and coffee, I've been learning on how to make pho, and coffee-flavored sweets."

"Eh, really?" Lien brightened up a bit. "What kind of pho?"

And with that, Arthur listed off a series of items, and with each one he said, Lien cringed.

_Why would you put batter with pho... scone pho?_ She asked herself, shuddering a bit. "I... didn't know you were a cook."

"Oh, I love culinary arts, love. It's my favorite thing to do and study," he said, seeming to beam over the phone.

"... Ah. Well, coffee is another option. Do you think you could make coffee cake?" She mused. "If you gave that to me at school, I'm sure you would be greatly loved."

"Well..." Arthur paused. "Isn't it strange if I randomly go up and give you food?"

Even if it was a hypothetical question, Lien was used to it. It became some of the basis in their conversations. Lien closed her golden orbs and imagined the scene playing out. Walking down the halls, having no idea of Arthur, and seeing the school idol come out of the hallway to give her food...

... Any other girl would die for that. But Lien was unusually an impassive woman who probably didn't care about Arthur in that world...

"You're right. It would be weird..." Lien sighed.

"And there's also the matter of how to approach her. I haven't the slightest clue on how to."

"... I'm not approachable?" With how casual she acted with Elizabeta and Natalia, she didn't think she was totally unapproachable...

"Well... you see, love, you're always with those friends of yours, Natalia and Elizabeta. You aren't in any clubs, you're rather mysterious and quiet... plus Natalia does frighten me quite a bit," Arthur said sheepishly. "Since you're always with them, it makes you seem rather unapproachable. Though, I do mean no offense to you, love. In fact, I think your mysteriousness is quite alluring..."

But Lien hadn't been listening to the last part. She was pulled into her own thoughts and how she appeared to others. With her reputation, along with her friends, she did seem rather isolated. Plus, she recalled having this cold glare before. But it was different now, right? Ah, she just didn't know anymore.

"Is that so... unapproachable..."

Figuring Lien didn't hear him, Arthur sighed over the phone. "I just don't know, love..."

Lien grunted and got off her bed, walking over to the window with the phone still against her ear. Placing a hand on the cold glass, she mulled over the situation. Suddenly, a feeling of downcast throbbed in her chest. Now the Vietnamese had realized it was all about her recently, wasn't it? She had only complained to the other about her own problem, not giving a thought to how Arthur might have had his own troubles.

But now, it was her time to help. In Arthur's universe, he had his own story. Lien wasn't the only character in this book.

"Hey, Arthur..." Lien said suddenly. "Are the stars in your world the same as the stars in my world?" It was a strange question, but Lien had asked it on the spur of the moment. She missed seeing a broad view of stars. Before, in her childhood, she grew up on a farm basically. The countryside gave her a broad view of the beautiful night sky. Now that she moved to the city, it was hard to see the stars clearly.

"I don't know actually. Do you know about astronomy, love?" Arthur asked, and Lien could heard the creak of a chair. Now she could imagine Arthur walking from his desk and to his window, looking at his sky.

"Not a lot," she admitted. "I only know basics that I've learned in class. Astronomy hasn't interested me as much."

"Hmm... I used to read plenty of astronomy books when I was younger. But, you tend to forget quite a large amount of things as you grow..."

"Forget?" Lien asked after a short silence.

"When you're young, you're interested in a lot of things," Arthur said, sounding as if he was smiling. "But real life rids of it quickly. I used to stargaze all the time. I thought the stars were my friends."

His voice was soft yet confident, and along with his British accent, it made it all the more soothing for the Vietnamese girl.

"I was labeled as a strange kid, so the only friend I had was Lukas. We shared one thing in common." Though Arthur didn't say.

"Do you know any particular patterns about the stars? I remember the Big Dipper," Lien commented, recognized the familiar pattern in her sky.

"Well... I do see Hydra in my sky," Arthur replied. "And then there's-"

"Zhang," Lien accidentally interrupted, remembering the Chinese constellation from Yao's recollections. "Ah, I'm sorry-"

"I see that as well-" Arthur paused, realizing he had interrupted as well. "Er-"

They both stumbled on words, before they stopped and laughed together.

"Well, enough about me. What about you, love?" Arthur asked. "When you were young, what did you like?"

"... I like to sing..." She muttered shyly.

"Sing?" Arthur echoed, surprised by this revelation.

"Er, used to, I mean. I don't have a lot of time for it as I did before. I wanted to become an idol or something, but it's too far-fetched a goal since you have to be really talented..."

"Don't doubt your talent, love." Arthur said. "Why don't you sing something for me?"

"It... won't sound very good over the phone, added with the many years I haven't sang though..." she replied.

Lien paused, but she knew she wouldn't be able to do it. Elizaveta always called her a coward, and though Lien hated it, she knew it was somewhat true. The Vietnamese had always been insecure. Even if she was headstrong, she was still... shy in the end.

"It's fine if you don't want to," Arthur said, picking up the hints from Lien's silence. "... I sing sometimes too."

"Eh?" Lien said, as if she couldn't believe it.

"That's where my email address came from. AIBGpro... Absolutely Invincible British Gentleman... that was the name of the song I wrote," he said, as if he was embarassed. "But we should... sing a duet together sometime."

"How would we hear each other though?" She asked, curious.

"Recordings over the phone?" Arthur offered.

"But emails won't work," she pointed out. "So I doubt recordings could work..."

"It was an idea," Arthur said. "... Are you sure you don't want to sing for me now?"

"... I..."

"Please, love?"

Before long, Lien had gave in. She couldn't refuse Arthur repeatedly. "... You should probably cover your ears then."

"Don't look down on your singing, love."

"Mhn... alright..." Lien sighed, taking a deep breath. Remembering one of the Vietnamese lullabies she had sang to Mei before, she let the words flow from her tongue naturally. She closed her eyes, feeling the familiar sense of freedom she felt when singing. Her voice was calm and mature, a rival for Kiku's voice. Mei always said she liked Lien's singing, so why did the Vietnamese stop? She didn't remember, but now... she was singing.

When the lullbay was finished, there was only silence. Lien was lucky no one was home except for her, but still... it was too quiet. Her breath caught in her throat as she awaited Arthur's comments.

"That was... lovely," Arthur had finally breathed out, awe filling his tone. In fact, the way he sounded made a smile break across the usually stoic Vietnamese. Lien didn't know how to smile. And yet, this was the second time Arthur had managed a smile to come from her. Truly wonderful...

"Really?" She asked, still a little hesitant.

"Really. I wouldn't lie, love. That was truly wonderful." He said honestly. "Why don't you join the school choir? Or your voice could be suited for orchestral pieces. Orchestra, maybe?"

"Natalia and Elizabeta are. And all they do is eat brownies," she said, amusement lighting her voice. "They aren't practicing when I visit... though, when they play at concerts and festivals, they sound really delightful."

"That they do," Arthur mused. "I went to it too."

"That's interesting. I bet it was enjoyable," she said. Then, the idea of singing... well, struck an idea in her mind. "I have an idea of what you could do with your Lien. You mentioning singing as your hobby, right?"

"That's correct, love."

"Honestly, I haven't sung in a long time. So... maybe when I'm walking to school one day, I hear you singing. Maybe the courtyard where there are flowers. I love flowers."

"Love, the chances of you walking in on me singing in the courtyard or gardens... what are they?" Arthur laughed. "I have to go sing there everyday?"

"Not everyday," Lien pouted. "But anyway, we still both sing. You could use that, since that's something we have in common.

"Right... I agree." Arthur replied.

**xxxXXXxxxXXXxxxXXX**

Lien sighed. For what seemed like the hundredth time this week, Lien placed waffles at Emma's desk, tomatoes on Antonio's desk and finally, Alfred's... large order of hamburgers.

"Thanks, dude! You're really the best gofer this newspaper club has ever had~" Alfred stuffed hamburgers in his mouth. Lien cringed in disgust.

"I... I see..."

"Also the only gofer we've had," Amelia cut in, looking up from her printouts.

"Shoosh you! Words have big impact," Alfred retorted. "Anyway, no Lien, stay here." He said as the Vietnamese turned around to head back to her desk. "I have something special for you. Sis, go proofread Antonio's article. Or try to get Alice's stick out of her ass. Something!"

"Love you too, bro," She rolled her eyes but smiled.

"You know it~" Alfred replied, giving a thumbs up as his sister walked away. He swiveled around in his chair, before finally facing Lien. "As award for being the best gofer we've ever had-"

"The only gofer you've ever had," Lien added dryly.

"You get the chance to interview Arthur Kirkland! Since I am the editor in chief of this school's newspaper, I have close ties with the student council, and we're thinking of writing something on them~" Look at that run-on sentence, courtesy of Alfred F. Jones.

But Lien nodded dully, not letting the sentence sink in until later.

"... WHAT?!" She cried out, gaping at the American with wide, golden orbs. "I don't know how to interview or write a newspaper! Sure, I can write essays and such, but an interview-"

"My sis or Emma can help with that. You're an honors student, right? Writing should still be no problem~" he replied, grinning.

"... Are you certain about this?" She asked, still unsure.

"Totally! It's an award, and I believe you're the best person for the job~"

"But-"

"Butts are for sitting and you sure as heck aren't sitting on this job! Get a notebook, mics are in the back, interview is in the music room and starts in fifteen minutes~"

"FIFTEEN MINUTES?!"

"Well, I just planned today, and so I asked Artie if he had time to be interviewed when school ended.

"... Today?"

"Media is always sudden and fast-paced. Get with the program, Lien~ It's do or die!"

"I have no questions prepared though-"

"You're a smart girl~ Interviewing President Arthur would be a piece of pie. Now go and improvise~!"

And that was when Alfred F. Jones got a hambuger slammed down his throat forcefully by a snapped Vietnamese woman.

**xxxXXXxxxXXXxxx**

Lien took deep breaths, timid steps contrasting against her stiff posture. She was going to interview Arthur Kirkland, President of the school and famous idol among the students. Her phone was set to record, and a small notebook was in her pocket. This was her chance to make a good impression. Running over potential questions to ask, she even texted the other Arthur to help.

"I'm not ready for this," she mumbled when she didn't receive a response yet. She found herself in front of the music room Alfred told her Arthur was in. It was only minutes before the interview should have been starting.

And then finally, her phone buzzed to indicated a new message. Lien quickly opened and read it, a wave of relief washing over her as the display of Arthur's name was on the screen.

_That's wonderful news, love! For questions... perhaps hobbies are your best choice. That git always said that human element is important. You should also ask about other members of the student council and such._

Lien took those suggestions to heart and nodded to herself, quickly sending a reply.

_Thank you very much, Arthur. Wish me luck._

Now that she had that taken care of, Lien opened the door while taking a deep breath. The music room had a grand piano, but with desks set up in the room. Since it was the end of school, the sunlight was rather dusky yet bright, making everything seem brighter. In one desk, at the corner... sat Arthur Kirkland.

The light made his blond hair look so alluring to ruffle or even just touch. The way it fell over his eyes... his bright, emerald orbs that seemed to take one's breath away. His fingers were intertwined and hooked under his chin, his gaze faced towards the window. He hadn't noticed her yet.

"Excuse me..." Lien said softly.

"Ah, good afternoon." Arthur said, turning his head to look at the Vietnamese. "Hello- ah!" His emerald orbs widened in recognition. "Aren't you the lady who-"

_Oh crud. He remembered._


End file.
